Little new in 3-year-old homicide

Sunday marked the third anniversary of hte unsolved daytime shooting death of a 30-year-old man in the New River area.

Katie Hansen - Daily News Staff

Sunday marked the third anniversary of the unsolved daytime shooting death of a 30-year-old man in New River.

Ramel McDonald was sitting on the porch at 2205 Onslow Drive with his 13-year-old cousin when he was shot close-range with a semi-automatic handgun on May 19, 2010. The investigation into the shooting, which took place in the middle of the afternoon, is still ongoing; and family members, who believe there are witnesses to the crime who have yet to come forward, are still healing.

"It’s still like yesterday," said Ramel McDonald’s uncle, Perry McDonald. “Even now, I’m getting emotional. The wound is still fresh."

McDonald said he believes people in the neighborhood have information on his nephew’s murder, but refuse to come forward out of fear. McDonald also has suspicions about who could be behind the crime and he has shared the information with the Jacksonville Police Department.

"There’s a lot of cold cases in this town," he said. "I think they can do better."

He also said he believes witnesses or those with knowledge of the crime would be more willing to come forward about details if there could be incentives with a reward. McDonald referred to recent local murder investigations, including the recent arrest of a Marine in the alleged murder of a woman behind a bingo hall.

"You know what made them talk? Money," McDonald said.

Crime Stoppers of Onslow County is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest or apprehension in connection to Ramel McDonald’s death.

McDonald said family members visited his nephew’s gravesite on Sunday and wore T-shirts bearing his picture. The teen cousin who was with Ramel McDonald at the time of the shooting is "moving on," according to Perry McDonald, relocating to Boston.

Perry McDonald said he knows his nephew was not a perfect man. Ramel McDonald was released from prison two months before his death, and his uncle said McDonald robbed a residence only days before the shooting. He also stated that he believes that robbery was connected to his nephew’s murder.

"He wasn’t perfect," Perry McDonald said, "but the bottom line is he was somebody’s child, and he didn’t deserve to die the way he did."

Witnesses described the suspect as a black male in his early to mid-20s, standing between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall with a medium to slender build. Jacksonville Police released a sketch of the suspect.

People with information can contact Crime Stoppers at 910-938-3273 or the Jacksonville Police Department at 910-455-4000 or jbettis@ci.jacksonville.nc.us. Callers do not have to reveal their identities.